Emma sat in English class not really paying attention to the teacher as her mind wandered off to the conversation she had with Regina the night before. Emma still felt guilty for what had transpired that night, but quickly hatched a plan so that maybe Regina won't feel so alone anymore.
"Miss Mills?", the English teacher, Ms. O'Brien, said impatiently breaking Emma out of her trance.
" Uh, yes Ms. O'Brien?", Emma asked sheepishly
" What are indefinite pronouns?"
Emma's mind went blank as she fidgeted with the hem of her sweater . Another student then raised his hand and Ms. O'Brien motioned for him to speak. " Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any person, amount, or thing in particular. For example, anything or anyone."
"Very good Peter-", Ms. O'Brien praised and then sneered as she turned to Emma,"- as for you Ms. Mills please refrain from daydreaming in my class"
"Yes ma'am", Emma replied as her cheeks turned bright red
Ms. O'Brien was a very strict teacher with red hair and a hint of an Irish accent, but few could take her seriously because of her height. It was particularly funny when she got mad or upset scrunching her face up almost like a little kid. A few other students giggled while Peter smirked at Emma's embarrassment. Emma shrank into her seat wishing she could turn invisible.
As soon as the bell rang Emma left in search for Ruby and Alana, hoping to share her ideas with them. Emma quickly went to her locker to drop off some books and then set off to her next class.
Emma was almost to her next class when she caught sight of Alana, but was stopped when a group of boys came into her view.
"Hey, Emma right? You're in my English class", the first boy greets with a fake smile
"Yeah and you are...?", Emma answers disregarding the older boy
"Aww, that sad. She doesn't even remember me." the boy said with feign hurt. The two other boys, his friends chuckled as if it was funny which it wasn't.
"I'm Peter Pan Darling. These are my friends Felix and Zach. And I just wanted to formally welcome you to our school.", Peter says with a devilish grin
"Gee, thanks Peter Pan, but I gotta get to class. I'm already late.", Emma states as she tries to move past the suspicious group
The two boys step in front of Emma. They weren't much bigger than her, but they definitely out muscled her. Emma turned back to Peter who had a creepy smile on his face.
"Hey, I don't want any trouble.", Emma said with a hint of fear in her voice
"Neither do I, but just to be safe I wanna make sure you know who's the boss around here."
Emma took a step back and bumped into the older kids behind her. Emma tried not to look scared, but the fear was starting to take over. Suddenly Felix and Zach were pushed aside by a powerful force. Emma turned around and saw Alana holding Zach by his collar.
"Peter...-", Alana began in a disapproving tone," -are you causing trouble again?"
Peter sneered, but answered," No I was actually just leaving", he turned swiftly and walked down the hall.
Alana dropped Zach and watched him scramble to catch up to Felix and Peter.
"Stay out of trouble Peter. I don't want to have to whoop your asses all the way down to the principal's office!", the boys began to walk faster out of the hallway.
Alana turned to face Emma and asked," Are you okay? Peter and his boys are stupid, but dangerous."
"I'm fine. They didn't do anything, mostly because you scared them off.", Emma answered, interested in what made Peter and his gang so scared of Alana.
"Why were they so afraid of you?"
Alana shrugged casually and began to walk to class,but with her long legs Emma was jogging painfully with her prosthetic just to catch up. "I'm the toughest girl in the school. Which means I'm the most feared...and my step-dad is the principal of the school."
"Wait...what?!", Emma asked taken aback
"It's no big deal so please drop the subject", Alana said uncomfortably
Emma nodded," So...is Peter's middle name really 'Pan' ?"
Alana grinned.
Emma stood outside the school with Alana while waiting for Ruby. School had finished twenty minutes ago and Alana had agreed to help Emma set her mom up on a date. Now they were just waiting for Ruby to fill her in on the details.
While waiting Emma's leg began to bother her so she sat down and decided to call Regina on her phone. Emma insisted that she didn't need one having gone so long without a phone, but Regina was persistent. "What if something happens and I'm not with you?", she reasoned, but Emma rolled her eyes and replied," I don't need you for everything Regina. If something happens I'll be fine, so stop coddling me.", Emma never noticed the momentarily hurt on Regina's face.
Emma dialed Regina's number.
" Emma? Is everything okay? I'm on my way to pick you up I am just swamped with work."
"Yeah everything's fine, but you don't need to pick me up. I'm going, with a couple of friends, to Granny's. We're gonna be working on a project. I'll text you when I'm done."
" Emma, I'm not sure if that's a good idea..."
"I'll be fine Regina. I'll text you when I'm done", Emma hung up the phone without waiting for an answer and saw that Ruby had finally exited the building.
"You ready?", Alana asked
"Yeah.", Emma answered uneasily feeling a bit guilty for hanging up on Regina
"Alright then let's go.", Ruby smiled, which made Emma feel a bit better, as the group of friends walked down the sidewalk.
